Photo Tips

It’s not rocket science, but decent lighting, a steady hand, and a little fudge factor make for a great image to feature on a dollar bill. Fudge factor? Yes, make sure you leave a little room around the top and sides of your face or of whatever you’re shooting. We need a little bit of background showing around your beautiful face to fill in the rest of the oval George Washington normally occupies.

Another thing to remember is that strong overhead lighting can cast long shadows on your face. You’re not really that old and we don’t want you looking that old on your dollar bill, so if you see really dark shadows under your eyes or nose, you may want to move somewhere else to take your picture.

If you’re taking a picture with more than one person in it, make sure everybody leans in. When faces are far apart, we have to shrink down the original image. We want everybody’s face to show up well, so get close!

But here’s the bottom line: if the picture looks good on your phone, tablet, PC, or Mac, don’t worry, it’s going to look good on a dollar bill!

Last but not least, if your smart device asks you if you’d like to downsize your photo, don’t. Send it actual size. We’ll shrink it down if we need to!

Important Do’s

Upload a sharp clear picture. If it looks good on your phone, camera, PC, or tablet, it will look good on a dollar bill!

Leave a little distance between your subject and the edges of the photo. This “fudge factor” allows us to properly center your subject.